The Board of Estimates awarded the project — designed to control the city's rat population and reduce litter — to the Statesville, N.C.-based company, Toter. If the program is successful, it could be scaled citywide for approximately $10 million, according to the city's Bureau of Solid Waste.

Residents in two communities will receive the 65-gallon containers, which will come on wheels and be equipped with a tracking device. The Belair-Edison and Four by Four neighborhoods were selected along with the greater Mondawmin area, including nine smaller neighborhoods.

Those in the pilot areas also will receive 25-gallon recycling bins for paper, metal, glass and plastic.

The program, which will last between six months and a year, will begin as early as March.

The board's contract approval came over the objections of several companies and representatives who questioned whether the selection process followed city guidelines. City Solicitor George Nilson advised that the board that protocol was followed.

Salisbury University has suspended its Phi Beta Sigma fraternity chapter for hazing, after members were reported to have hit pledges with paddles and held forced workouts at an off-campus house, school officials said.